We were most impressed by the taste, quality and variety of the dishes at award-winning, casual restaurant, M.E.A.T. Eatery And Taproom, located in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. The cool joint is the brainchild of restaurateurs Chef George Patti and Sommelier Thomas Smith. Three years after their collaboration on the popular Caribbean/Asian Fusion restaurant, Tasters Grille & Market which opened 2009 in Key Largo, the pair decided to move forward on their fast casual concept M.E.A.T., which opened in July 2012. It is their vision of the next generation of food, incorporating fresher and more flavorful options for diners than the standard fast food establishments as the public becomes more health conscious and educated on food through media such as the Travel Channel, Food Network, various other TV food shows and the internet through videos, social networks, shows, tweets and blogs. It also provides more intimate service than most other fast casual establishments through its “taproom” service. M.E.A.T. smokes its own pork, grinds and cases its own sausages, makes its own bacon, ketchups, mustards, ice creams and desserts and most of the other foods on the menu. What it doesn’t make it brings in some of the best products available. Sodas are micro-brewed, wines organic and sustainably farmed and most beers are craft or micro-brewed. M.E.A.T. is run as a fast casual establishment with the guests either ordering at the cashier or at the bar counter, to resemble the feel of dining at a bar or “taproom,” where you’d order from the bartender and not a server. Guests are given their beverage immediately and are given a card from a deck of playing cards to identify them for their food delivery to make finding the guests more efficient without assigning them a number or intruding on their privacy by asking a name. M.E.A.T. has been one of the top-rated restaurants in Islamorada in the Florida Keys by travel sites Yelp and TripAdvisor since the beginning of 2013 and was noted in USA Today Travel, 10 Best.com, Travel + Leisure, and Florida Travel and Life, among others in it’s first year. More recently it has made national news reported by Good Morning America, Fox, CBS and ABC as being #5 of the Top 10 Burgers in America (#1 in Florida) by TripAdvisor 2014. Top 101 Burgers in America 2015 The Daily Meal, Top 10 Hottest Restaurants in Boca Raton 2014- Zagat, New Times Best Burger Broward/Palm Beach 2015, Best Burger 2015 Boca Magazine, Top Top 5 French Fries in Palm Beach County – Palm Beach Post 2015 plus many more. Don’t miss the “#1 Burger in Florida”- the Inside Out Juicy Lucy, the house smoked Pulled Pork (named Top 10 Sandwiches in Palm Beach County 2015), the lobster roll, onion rings, beer cheese soup or the home-made floats and desserts. In addition to the Islamorada restaurant there’s a location in Boca Raton, Florida (980 N Federal Highway), which just won the #1 Burger in Boca award. For more information about George and Tom’s accolades, visit: http://www.meateateryboca.com/press. For more about M.E.A.T. visit: http://meateatery.com